Scrollsaw Workshop Community -Please register to enable posting.
General Category => Tutorials, Techniques and Tips => Topic started by: Gabby on November 05, 2011, 11:54:11 pm
-
Terry I've never seen anyone explain that before. What a great tip! ;D ;D ;D
here it is again.
Thanks Terry, Gabby
"Finally, in making a turn just release all the push and twist force and let the blade just go up and down in the same place. Now turn the piece quickly while also ever so slightly pulling the piece back towards you. You want to pivot on the back of the blade, not the front."
Durn, I've got all winter to wait before I can try it. :'(
Gabby
-
LOL Thats how I do it... Sheila
-
That is the way it is suppose to be done. I have heard Steve Good describe it that way in some of his videos. 8)
-
Gabby, where have you been all this time? I figured that out on the first project I made eight years ago!
Rog
-
Gabby, where have you been all this time? I figured that out on the first project I made eight years ago!
Rog
Well smarty you have a 8 year head start on me and you're probably not as timid as I was starting out, still am actually. I hadn't heard or seen it demonstrated as Terry described. Every time I watched a video they made it look so easy just spin that sucker around and go. Yeah right! Steve is probably cutting at 60 MPH as compared to my 5 MPH. After 6 months I've crept up a little faster but no way near what the guys who have been at it for years can do.
I started out to make this a funny response but it gained a life of it's own. I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one who has had these experiences. Untill I started scrolling this spring, probably the only time I ever saw one of these machines demonstrated would have been in wood shop in high school, that's a LONG time ago, and I don't recall ever using one before. So constructive criticism is appreciated but telling me or anyone else how fast a learner you are is out of place. If you were trying to make it a joke a couple of laughs and a ;D or 2 would have taken the sting out of it.
Gabby
-
Gabby i've been cutting almost two years & cut slow. i dont think i will ever get very fast. it
amazes me when i watch videos of other cutters &see how fast they go.
-
Works great for me. That's how I was shown during my first scrollsaw lesson.
Jim
-
That's How I do it. If you don't do it naturally, that's a good nugget of info for us newbies to keep in mind, as we learn to do it naturally..
-
I have to apologize to Roger, I really didn't mean to unload on him.
Bad hair day I guess. What hair you say? on my face where it belongs you guys with hair on top have it all wrong. LOL
Back to my reason for this post, I just want Rog to know I'm not PO'd at him and a public apology was called for I think.
I've never had a lesson on the scroll saw the closest I've come are the instructional videos I've seen on the internet, especially Steve's. He may have shown that technique and I missed it in my ignorance or it may have just gone right by without registering on my tired old brain.
So when Terry explained it so well I just had to share it with everyone. Part of my gabby nature ya know.
So if one other person benefited from my placing it here for everyone to see it was worth it.
That's my dollar 2.98 cents worth.
Gabby
-
Gabby,
Don't worry about it. I was just surprised that you hadn't done that just naturally. When I come to a sharp corner it just seems natural to stop and back off just a bit before making a turn.
I didn't mean to sound so smart @$$ with my comment either.
If it is a real sharp corner, I sometimes back up quite a ways and cross over to the other side and cut back into the point, take out the small drop piece and spin the wood around 180 degrees and cut my way out on the other line.
Just another hint for newbies trying to cut over 90 degree corners.
Rog
-
Gabby,
Don't worry about it. I was just surprised that you hadn't done that just naturally. When I come to a sharp corner it just seems natural to stop and back off just a bit before making a turn.
I didn't mean to sound so smart @$$ with my comment either.
If it is a real sharp corner, I sometimes back up quite a ways and cross over to the other side and cut back into the point, take out the small drop piece and spin the wood around 180 degrees and cut my way out on the other line.
Just another hint for newbies trying to cut over 90 degree corners.
Rog
Thank you sir here's a :-* to make up. ;D
You didn't really expect me to stay serious did you?
What you just described is what I've been doing it's slower than the spin but my shakey hands aren't as apt to get me in trouble that way. I'm looking forward to next season to see if I can get it to work right for me.
Thanks again,
Gabby
-
Thank the Lord, y'all. I thought I was just doing it wrong or cheating the corners. I've only been cuttin' for about a year or so, so let me say THANK YOU to Gabby and Roger for the insight. I guess there's really no wrong way just as long as it's SAFETY FIRST. ;D
-
Hey Bruno,
I'm vindicated, at least one person benefited from my post.
That's why I did it!
Thank you,
Gabby
-
I think there is one more thing you can add to this tip. To increase control and to have a pivot point, you can place your fore finger of your left hand right next to the blades and you can have more control and sharper corners even for a nearly 180 degree turn.
-
I think there is one more thing you can add to this tip. To increase control and to have a pivot point, you can place your fore finger of your left hand right next to the blades and you can have more control and sharper corners even for a nearly 180 degree turn.
Chuck, remember what I said about shakey hands? LOL
Yup I do that but not too close. :)
Gabby
-
Gabby don't worry to much about the scroll saw blades. The fingernail on my fore finger left hand is always shorter than any of my other fingernails. Wonder why?
-
Yer Gabby and chuck, Iwas doing this the other day with a new blade,in thin ply so I hade very slow speed and because of my old eyes my finger
touched the blade and I was I was amazed it did not cut me.
The good old scroll saw is the safest sharp tool in my shed.
.......all fingers still present... LOL...Geoff3
-
Hey Gabby,
I've been sanding the back edges off the blades when I know I've got tight turns to make. Just take the blade to your belt sander and sand the back corners/edges slightly. While you're there sharpen the end of the blade so it goes through the starter holes easier. Iffen you don't have a sander, glue some sandpaper to a block of wood and sand the back corners/edges away by running your saw with the blade tightened.
Dave
-
Yer Gabby and chuck, Iwas doing this the other day with a new blade,in thin ply so I hade very slow speed and because of my old eyes my finger
touched the blade and I was I was amazed it did not cut me.
The good old scroll saw is the safest sharp tool in my shed.
.......all fingers still present... LOL...Geoff3
Hey Geoff,
Get yourself a magnifier lamp they are worth their weight in bandaids. I couldn't even do a simple cutting without mine. As thin as my skin is I wouldn't want to try touching my saw blade even at the slowest setting, I bleed if you look at me wrong.
Be careful I think you were just lucky this time.
Gabby
-
Hi Wingnut,
I haven't tried that yet, maybe next spring when I can set my saw up again.
I've had pretty good results with backing up and making the cut wider so I have room to turn.
I never expect to get to the point where I can just spin that sucker, too shakey handed nowadays.
Sheesh I'll probably have to start from scratch learning all over again how to use my saw.
Gabby
-
Hey Gabby,
It's like riding a bike, once you got it, you got it. Just takes a little getting used to the balance again.
Dave
-
I'm lucky enough not to use a magnifier as of yet. It is coming though.
-
Hey J,
You might not need the magnifier yet for your eyesight, but it is sure sweet when you need to get your fingers almost touching the blade. Looks like they're a mile away. I've been using mine for years, wouldn't trade it for anything.
Dave
-
My problem would be this. "Objects are closer than they actually appear". My hands do get pretty close right now without having to use a magnifier whille allowing me to see what I need to. I just don't feel the need for one yet. For those that do, use one. No arguments from me what works for you. I tried one and did not like it.
-
Hello all,
I've heard that tip before, push the blade backwards while turning so the pressure is on the back of the blade. I find it usually works, but what if you are at the end of a cut coming towards you and you have to make a 90' turn? You can't really push it back against the back of the blade or you will push it back into the previous cut. Is there another way other than just "spinning" the blade in place?
thanks from a newbie
-
Yep, there is another way and you have almost discovered it on you own!
Just back the blade back into the previous cut a short distance, make a bigger turn and cut on down the next line and so on and so forth until the scrap piece (center section) comes out, go back and cut the 90 degree corner from the other direction to square it up! ;) This tip works on almost any angle greater than 90.
Rog
-
I guess a little update is called for, as most of you know I was out of action for most of 2012 and only got to cut 1 plaque that year, that cool totem wolf plaque I have hanging in my "Library" ::)
So I was able to tackle a lot more this year and LOW AND BEHOLD I'm starting to make those smooth spins withough thinking about it too much. I guess I just needed the "rest"! LOL I won't tell you how many blades I broke though.
So the crux of what I'm saying is to those new comers to scrolling just have patience and keep at it and don't be afraid to ask those "dumb" questions we've asked before, and I am sure some "oldtimer" will step up and confuse you with an explanation and someone else will confuse you even more and finally someone will say it in such a way that it will sink in. So old timers keep explaining it and newbies keep asking.
That is what this forum is all about. Folks helping one another and giving a little moral support now and then.
None of us started out being perfect with the first cut!
None of us ARE perfect!
Gabby
-
I can't find Terry's tip. I've watched Steve's. But would also like to see this one.
Can someone link me to it?
Thanks in advance.
-
For me to make a tight turn and/or a 90 degree turn I cut into the corner back up a tad cut some of the waste out about wide as the blade, turn it 90 degrees slide into the corner and take off, give a good clean corner.
-
There are lots of tricks to making turns, one that Dan posted a while back is to back up and use the corner/side of the blade to widen the the cut going into the corner it may take a few passes to get it to the point where you can stop the saw and spin the work piece around and back the blade into the corner and continue making your cut going the direction you want to go, this works especially well if you have cut into a sharp V corner and don't want a crude corner but rather a sharp crisp corner. The best thing to do is use up a lot of scrap pieces practicing those cuts you are having difficulty with. Don 't give up it WILL come to you.
I can almost predict when a blade is going to break "almost" ;D it inevitably happens when I get in a hurry and get heavy handed trying to make one of these spin cuts, it happens most often when I'm cutting thick wood and bind the blade up in the corner not giving the blade time to catch up and open up enough room to spin around. What I mean by catch up is the blade will actually be bending some from the pressure we're using to feed the wood through the blade, especially as the blade gets duller and we push harder without realizing it. If you stop pushing the blade will continue to cut until it straightens out that is when you can start to spin your work not before because that is when you put the blade in a bind and then "BANG" AND YOU JUMP 3 FEET!
Right? LOL Scares the crap out of me every time.
Hope I have confused you some more, now go make some sawdust, what the heck are you doing in here in front of yer pooter listening to this old crack pot?
LOL
Gabby